Donald "Donny Bondo" Hiniker

Donald G. Hiniker “Donny Bondo”, age 56, died Saturday, March 27th, 2021 at his home.

Memorial visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at the Northview – North Mankato Mortuary, 2060 Commerce Drive, North Mankato. A private family Memorial Mass will be at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Mankato with interment at Calvary Cemetery in Mankato. The Mass will be livestreamed and available at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 7^th at www.mankatomortuary.com.

Donny was born August 18, 1964 in Mankato, MN to Mike and Mary (McGuire) Hiniker. Donny is well known for his own brand of humor and one-of-a-kind car creations.  His first goal was to put a smile on your face and always leave you laughing.  In the past few years, he also started making custom mailboxes. One was always on display at his home.

Donny was also an artist, singer and song writer, actor, inventor, poet and prolific writer with many volumes of notebooks in preparation for a movie he intended to shoot. He especially liked palindromes, of which he created many. As an artist, his signature touch was his vinyl and magnetic flames, and he felt no car or mailbox was complete without them. Donny was always working on something even at a young age but once he was introduced to cars, everything changed.  He attended Mankato Technical College for auto mechanics and body work and worked for several business in Mankato and, for a time, ran his own business on riverfront drive for auto and body repair. He has owned every kind of car from muscle cars to classics and even an ambulance and a hearse and every single one was a work of art, many inspired by the movie Mad Max. He had many friends and will be dearly missed by all.

He is survived by his parents, Michael & Mary Hiniker of Mankato; brothers Thomas Hiniker (Brian Williams) of Lime Springs, IA, Gregory Hiniker (Jerri Moerke Hiniker) of Hanover; and sisters, Julie Hiniker of Faribault and Kathryn “Kat” Hiniker (David Toft) of Mankato.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Elmer and Mary (Trio) Hiniker of Mankato, MN and Bernard and Anna (Schacherer) McGuire of Mankato, MN.